Nigeria claimed the top spot as Africa’s largest economy, ousting South Africa whose economy recently slid into a recession.
According to the All Progressives Congress (APC), the 2019 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for Nigeria stood at $476 billion, with respect to the official naira rate of 306 per dollar.
Data further shows that the growth in Nigeria’s GDP was as a result of the following:
- Increase in oil output
- Increased transparency in governance
- Diversification of the economy away from oil
- Improved fiscal management
On the other hand, latest statistics from the Statistics South Africa show economic contraction in South Africa during the last two quarters of 2019. In the third quarter of 2019, the economy contracted by 0.8%, while in the last quarter of the year, the contraction was by 1.4%.
Overall, the South African economy grew by 0.2% in 2019, its GDP resting at only. This is the lowest reading since 2009 when the economy contracted by 1.5%.
The two countries account for almost half of sub-Saharan Africa’s gross domestic product.
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